Thursday, October 29, 2015

Rome, Italy is a place that can make you feel so tiny, and yet so significant amidst its tattered grandeur. Walking among pillars that have stood for over 2,500 years there is a placid mood that shifts and rotates in the shadows around the burial grounds of these monumental structures, now crumbling, but miraculously still so imposing and present. As Josh and I gazed over the huge stretches of brick and marble, it took just a bit of imagination to picture what an incredible, frightening sight this must have been so many years ago. We wondered that in all the years, events, catastrophes and normalcy we are still walking across these ruins talking about people who existed thousands of years ago.

As impressive as Rome is, there was a little voice in my brain that said “someday this will all pass away.” Someday all of this toil will return to dust and there will be “a new heaven and a new earth” as is the vision in Revelation 21, and “God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

The old order will pass away. All of this will pass away. Though it may seem like loss, there is no sadness in this transition. There is only joy and expectation. The day that I watched my grandmother take her final breath through her aching lungs, she was shedding the old order and stepping into the new one. One that we cannot see or feel or know in our little earthly bodies and brains, but we wait for, we hope for, we believe in. Each brilliant shining soul that walked the marbled world of Rome
thousands of years ago, or hauled away its bricks to build a new home, or takes selfies with its pillars in its backdrop – we are all part of the order that will pass away, but Jesus is holding our tears and mourning and pain and will trade them in for a feast.

I don’t much care about Caesar or Augustus. I care about my grandma and grandpa, my birth mom, my aunt Kim, my faithful saints that are waiting at that feasting table. They have passed away, but, oh, what joy - WHAT JOY! when we all trade in our tears for a seat at the table with them again.

The funeral Eucharist for Elaine Stender will be held this Saturday, October 31, at 1:00 p.m. Visitation will be held one hour before the Eucharist, beginning at Noon.
Rest eternal grant her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on her. May Elaine and all the blessed dead, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Wedding Bells have Rung!

On October 11, Anna Kingman (now Anna Scott), our Neighborhood Ministry Program Coordinator, married Josh Scott at Solomon's Porch Christian Community in Minneapolis. We want to celebrate with them this Sunday, November 1, after the second liturgy. We'll get to see pictures, eat treats, drink Mimosas and even get a glimpse of THE DRESS! You all received an email last week about how you might help, and we could still use some contributions of time or goodies. In that email were also suggestions for gifts, should you be so inclined (certainly not required!). For more information, contact Lora Dundek or Mary Crippen.

TRUST Youth Update

On Sunday, Sept. 27, Sedona Crosby and Eric Manuel participated in the TRUST Youth kick off picnic at Lake Calhoun. On October 11, they went on a Mississippi river paddle through Urban Wilderness Canoe Adventure. It was a beautiful day to canoe from Hidden Falls Park in St. Paul to Ft. Snelling Park and back. Next up: Holiday Baskets for the Aliveness Project on Sunday December 6. In January TRUST Youth will participate in a Martin Luther King Jr. service on Sunday January 17, 2016. Events for the spring are still being planned but will include a Monarch and Milkweed activity, Earth Day, and other fun things soon to be announced. A mission trip to Pilgrim Point Camp near Alexandria in August 2016 is also in the works.

TRUST Youth is comprised of kids from local Protestant churches of varying denominations and is open to youth grades 6-12. If you have a young person in grades 6-12 and are interested in having them attend TRUST Youth activities, please contact Julie Manuel.

Attention Worship Assistants!

The Servant Schedule for the 1st quarter of 2016 (January- March) will be published at the beginning of December 2015. The deadline for submitting requests to me is October 30, 2015. Please email your requests to peggyrf70@gmail.com. Thanks.

- Peggy Hoeft

Transitions Support Group

All are welcome at Transitions Support Group. If you’re looking for new ideas or encouragement to meet the challenges or uncertainties that are before you, join us on Wednesday, November 11 at 6:00 pm.

This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Transitions Support Group meets on Wednesday, November 11 from 6- 7 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, and will be facilitated by Cathy Bosworth and Amy Cotter.

For more information, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144, marcat8447@yahoo.com, or Amy at 612-710-1811, agate651@gmail.com.

Names of the Departed Saints Invited

As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Sunday, Nov. 1, worshipers are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be one more opportunity to write these names this Sunday, or you may simply contact the church office with the names. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.

Light a Candle

All Saints Day, November 1, is this coming Sunday. Before the liturgies on this day, all are invited to light a candle in memory of the faithful departed, the saints we have known, at the baptism font. This practice, begun in 2003 at Mount Olive, is an extremely powerful devotion for many people. Come a few minutes early and pray in the peace of our nave and in the light of the saints’ reflections of Christ.

New Member Welcome

Mount Olive will welcome new members and associate members on Sunday, November 15, during the second liturgy. If you are interested in becoming a member or associate member, please contact the office via e-mail to welcome@mountolivechurch.org or by phone, 612-827-5919. You may also contact Pastor Crippen at church, or Andrew Andersen (763-607-1689).

A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy for new members and for all who would like to be part of the welcome festivities.

Restoration 2015 Updates

Follow the Renovations 2015 blog for weekly updates and new information on the project: http://morenovations2015.blogspot.com/.

There is also a link to the blog on the front page of the church website www.mountolivechurch.org.

Book Discussion Group Update

Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome! For the November 14 meeting they will read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, and for December 12 they will read The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James.

Sunday’s Adult Forum

On November 1, All Saints Day, there will be no regular no teaching session. All are encouraged to view the display of the baptismal and death registry books of Mount Olive Lutheran Church.

A Gentle Reminder

Information for the weekly Olive Branch is due on Monday of the week it is to be published. If you have information to share, please be sure it’s in to the church office on Mondays. Thanks!

November Music & Fine Arts Events

+ Sunday, November 15, 4 pm
SING! With Alice Parker

+ Sunday, November 29, 4 pm
Advent Procession

Hymn Survey Results are In!

We heard from 84 of you. 139 hymns were named. Of those:

One hymn was mentioned by eleven people: “There in God’s Garden.”
One hymn was mentioned by ten people: “Lift High the Cross.”
One hymn was mentioned by 9 people: “Lord Thee I Love With All My Heart.”
One hymn was mentioned by 7 people: “O God Our Help in Ages Past.”
Four hymns were mentioned by 6 people: “Beautiful Savior,” “For All the Saints,” “Love Divine All Loves Excelling,” and “When Peace like a River.”
One hymn was mentioned by 5: “Children of the Heavenly Father.”
Four hymns were named by four: “A Mighty Fortress,” “All My Hope on God is Founded,” “God of Grace and God of Glory,” and “O Day Full of Grace.”
6 hymns were named by 3 people.
28 Hymns were named by 2 people.
And 92 hymns were named by one person.

While fascinating, there are some things to keep in mind: our average worship attendance is 228. Add to that, the most-named hymn was named by 11 of you (as in 11 out of 228!). While we had four hymns rise as the “top” hymns, it’s not a huge percentage of our average attendance (not that anything would be “average” around here?!). While I am not an expert on poll results, my hunch is that this poll is not something to take too terribly seriously with regard to declaring any majority trends/preferences, but it does say some interesting things.

For one, with the exception of “Beautiful Savior,” our top hymns on this list are not the typical hymns named in most contexts. In fact, “There in God’s Garden” and “Lord Thee I Love,” I suspect, would rarely be named by even one in most assemblies in a typical community. Second, it says we embrace both history and new. The top three include a brand-new hymn, a British Victorian hymn, and a German Chorale. There may be other things one can derive from this list – and I’m sure our ensuing conversations will provide those!

I went into this venture somewhat expecting some results: that there would be push-back to only being asked for three (and not more), that the list of named hymn would be predominantly single (as in a hymn named by only one person), and I expected the list to be somewhat diverse in terms of the kind of hymns named (like from where they came, when, style/culture; although predominantly European in nature).

One thing I think is so important about this exercise: that we strengthen the sense of “Having it OUR way” over and above “Having it MY way.”

- Cantor David Cherwien

Images of God: Thursday Bible Study

This Thursday, Oct. 29, is the last session of the study titled “The Last Enemy.” On Thursday, Nov. 6, a new six- week study will begin, led by Vicar Helgen, which will run through December 19. (The study will not meet Thanksgiving Day.) The study, called “Images of God,” will explore how we talk about God through the language of image and metaphor. The sessions will reflect on common images of God and participants will have the opportunity to share a creative presentation of an image of God that speaks to them.

As always, the sessions begin with a light supper at 6:00 p.m. Please let Vicar Helgen know if you are able to provide a meal.

“Please, may I have some more?”

This is a poignant quote from Dickens, in which the orphan boy, institutionalized, receives a meager bowl of gruel and dares to ask for more.

Incredibly, here, now in America, many children are food-deprived. Mount Olive has been generous in giving to a variety of causes and none is more important than providing for the hungry. The Neighborhood Ministries Committee has been the vehicle for collecting donations. Although it is true that cash donations bring about greater results, food donations are also welcome. For families with small children, bringing food for the needy is a tangible way for the children to grasp the concept of helping and in which they can participate.

Community Emergency Services suggests the following food items; food staples, such as sugar, flour and cooking oil are listed as being very important. Other categories are dry food items, canned food, breakfast items and personal hygiene needs.
As in the past, the first Sunday of each month is designated as food collection Sunday. However, donations can be brought at any time. Please bring your contributions to the grocery cart in the coat area.

Thank you for your generous response to the needs of those who need our help the most.

Winter’s Coming – Working to Get Ready

What’s going on outside the 31st Street door?

The sidewalk over the past few years has become dangerous. The segments of the walk were uneven at best, and during the winter freeze, surface would become a hazard (think squares one to one and one-half inches higher or lower than their neighbors.

It had to go. And thanks to the hard (really hard) labor of a small crew, it went last Saturday. Broken up, loaded up and carted away, and the surface prepared for a new sidewalk this Friday.

Mark and Tim Pipkorn are heading up this project, with less skilled labor provided by Ted Thompson and Art Halbardier. And Al Bipes loaned us his truck.

Look forward to an easier, safer walk into church this winter!

In Our Neighborhood

Powderhorn Park Neighbor-hood Association will hold its Community Meal and Annual Meeting on Thursday, Nov. 12. Dinner will be at 5:30 pm and elections and meeting at 6 pm. Celebrate the gift of commun-ity with the neighbors of Mount Olive!

A Wish List

Parents in Community Action, Inc. Head Start serves the community of children and families experiencing hunger, homelessness, poor access to resources, and the devastating effects of poverty. They will host the annual Head Start Health Fair for neighborhood children and families and are requesting any donations of new or gently used prenatal or early childhood supplies: things like diapers, wipes, clothes, blankets, bottles, toys, formula, etc. Any donation will help and goes directly into the hands of the most needy children and families in the neighborhood. Donations can be dropped off in the coat room near the upstairs kitchen and are needed before Friday November 13. Thank you! Please call Anna Scott at church with any questions.

Tending the Family of God

What if it were you? What if you were the one who had been worshiping with this congregation every Sunday for five years or twenty-five years or fifty-five years, and you stopped coming because of illness of mobility issues, or because you got mad about something that had been done here – and no one even bothered to get in touch with you and tell you that you were missed? How would that feel? Like no one cared? Like you didn’t matter? Like no one even noticed you were gone?
We can’t let that be our story. If you are missing someone, get in touch. Let them know you care.

Powderhorn Empty BowlsFriday, November 6, 11am - 7pm

Powderhorn Empty Bowls was started in 2007 by five neighbors and potters who met at the Powderhorn Park Pottery Program. Their mission, to promote art, provide sustenance and promote the common good has been carried out every year since, with the help of donations and hundreds of volunteers. Every year hundreds of neighbors and community members gather together to help end hunger. These people choose a hand-made bowl that has been donated, which is filled with soup made by volunteers and local businesses and accompanied by bread made on site by volunteers.
For this, each adult is asked to make a $20 donation, or a $5 donation for kids. Any and all donations, of any amount, are gladly accepted.

When finished, wash your bowl and bring it home. Enjoy it and have it as a reminder of all the empty bowls in your community, across Minnesota and around the world. Also leave with that bowl feeling good, knowing that on this day, you did something to feed people in your community.

Many volunteers are needed to make this day happen. If you’re able, please visit them on the web to see if there’s anything you can help with.
THANK YOU! More information on facebook or http://powderhornemptybowls.org/

National Lutheran Choir to Present All Saints Concert, “Blessed Are They”

Join the National Lutheran Choir for their annual All Saints Concert: “Blessed Are They,” a concert of music and texts reflecting on the lives of those who have been loved and lost. Concerts are 4 pm, Sunday, November 1, at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi and 7:30 pm, Friday, November 6, at St. Bartholomew Catholic Faith Community in Wayzata.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call Brown Paper Tickets (800) 838-3006, or order online at www.nlca.com. Tickets will also be available at the door on the day of the concert.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

We are slaves to deeper powers that shape our actions and behaviors, our sins, and only the Son of the Triune God can free us to be the children of God we’re meant to be.Pr. Joseph G. Crippen Sunday of the Reformation texts: John 8:31-36; Jeremiah 31:31-34

Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

“We’ve never been slaves to anyone.”

That’s a bold statement. The obvious problem is that these people’s central faith identity is they belong to the God who brought them out of slavery into freedom.

Maybe they just forgot. But that’s odd. It would be like Christians saying, “Jesus was never defeated by anyone.”

These believers have a problem deeper than momentary historical amnesia. Jesus isn’t interested in a history lesson. Jesus needs them to face a problem that is killing them.

John calls them “the Jews who had believed in Jesus.” Most of Jesus’ followers were Jewish, so that’s strangely non-specific. But he says these are believers, people who had found God in Jesus. Jesus has some investment in these folks already. He loves them.

And they’re enslaved, trapped. But they can’t see it. So they don’t need or want the life the Son of God is offering them.

That’s a problem. It’s also ours.

Like these believers, we misunderstand Jesus.

When Jesus says he can free them, they get confused and think he means from real, physical slavery. When Jesus says “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin,” we get confused and think he’s talking about individual things we do. When we confess our sins here, what crosses your mind during the silence? Is it things you’ve done or said, problems you’ve caused, individual sins? For many it is. It’s rarer for people to confess they are trapped, enslaved to the power of sin, and cannot be free. Yes, one of our confession prayers says just that. But when it comes to what we confess, we don’t often get there.

So we obsess with sins. We have long debates about what is sinful, we look for loopholes in God’s law, as we heard a couple weeks ago, to help us justify things we do, and when we do take time to confess, we try to name the list of things we can remember we did wrong.

It’s healthy to be able to name individual sins. We need that honesty to find healing from God. Consider, though: if critters are getting into your house you can try and eliminate all of them whenever they come. It would be better to discover the root cause of how they’re coming in, and deal with that.

That’s what happens when we ask ourselves about the power of sin that enslaves us. If we don’t address that, we’re just bailing water out of a leaky boat, and at some point we’re going down.

When we’re confused about what enslaves us, thinking of places we get stuck can help.

If you aren’t sure you’re enslaved to sin, ask this: how often do I get into the same kind of trouble, or cause the same difficulty, or do the same thing I always regret? When do I act in the same sinful ways, even though I’ve tried to stop?

And ask this: what is my deepest anxiety or fear, and how often do I make bad decisions because of it? What is the repeated habit, attitude, point of view, that leads to repeated mistakes?

We act as if every decision is a freely made, unattached moment, but virtually everything sinful we do is part of a long chain of behaviors and attitudes in our lives, sometimes stretching back years. Individuals get trapped in these patterns. So do families and groups. If we ever tried to stop doing something we knew was wrong, only to find ourselves doing it again and again, we begin to understand the power of sin to enslave us. The sins are symptoms of the disease.

So how do we know what owns us? And how can Christ Jesus help?

Well, other believers have done some work in naming our masters.

In the early centuries of the Church, teachers identified common places where we are trapped. These ancient teachers named what eventually became called a list of deadly sins. But it’s not about individual sins, it’s about those deeper masters that enslave us. That’s why they’re deadly. On that list, every believer can find what controls them, and it’s important we do.

For some of us it is our pride that owns us. For others it’s our greed. For some it’s our anger. For some it’s our lust and desire. For some it’s our envy. For others it’s our gluttony, insatiable need. For some it’s our laziness. There were teachers who added two more to the list. They said some of us have fear as our master, and some of us are owned by shame.

Pray about this. Consider your life and actions, the places you always get stuck. You’ll likely find your owner here. Knowing that truth is the only way we stop saying, “we’ve never been slaves to anyone.” This truth can free us, as Jesus said, and show us why we need the Son of God.

This is when we admit we can’t deal with this and let Jesus truly free us.

God promises a new covenant in Jeremiah today because the old covenants, especially Sinai, with the Ten Commandments, didn’t help God’s people cut to the root of their problem. It was a list of laws and rules, so people looked for loopholes. Or ignored them. Or pretended they didn’t understand. God needed to make a covenant that changed our hearts, that dealt with our deeper enslavement. But we’re going to need to want God to do this.

To admit we are trapped means clearing out space in our lives for God’s Word to come in and transform us. Jesus says today he’s rejected by people because “there is no place in you for my word.” As long as we keep him away from the deep problems that keep getting us into difficulty, if we can’t make room for him to heal and free us, we’ll keep spinning our wheels and digging deeper and deeper into the mud that traps us.

When we make room in our hearts, we find the true joy of God’s promise.

The new covenant the Triune God makes in Christ with the people of the world means we don’t have to be in control anymore. We will be given new hearts, with God’s path written on them so we love God and neighbor as if it’s our true nature, in our DNA. We are made into new creatures in the death and resurrection of the Son of God, freed from what traps us.

We still live in this world, and freedom takes time. The path God is writing on our hearts takes time to free us. Making room for the word of God in our hearts takes time. I’ve seen there are things God has taken more than three decades to free up in me, and there’s more work needed. But there is hope when we see even some things that trap us break apart, find a freedom we didn’t have a few years before. While we pray for the full freedom God will give us, that hope keeps us going along the way.

This may seem complicated, but it’s simple, and it’s life.

Jesus, the Son of God, loves us and wants to free us from the things that own us and trap us and lead us into sin. Our forebears have given us guidance to learn what each of us serves, what owns us, so we can ask the Christ for help with that. We have each other to support and help us as we all are being made free into the children of God we are meant to be. And at the end of this journey we will find our full freedom in Christ as we live in the presence of the Triune God forever. That’s it.

It’s actually life-giving to admit we’re enslaved if the Son of God is able to free us. And if the Son makes us free, we will be free indeed.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Our psalm for Reformation Sunday is always 46, and it’s full of noise. Mountains fall into the sea, waters foam, nations rage, kingdoms are shaken. The psalmist breaks up this chaos with the constant refrain, “The LORD of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” No matter the storms that thunder around us, the confusion and clamor of the world, God is our refuge and strength, our help in trouble.

Yet near the end of the psalm we sing this very different note, in God’s voice: “Be still, then, and know that I am God.” In the midst of chaos and noise, God speaks to us and says, “Be still a moment. Know I am God.”

I used to listen to podcasts on my morning walks, and I still listen to music if it’s a morning run. Recently my spiritual director wondered what would happen if I went silent on the walks, so I’ve been trying that.

This week I realized some of why it’s a good idea. I wasn’t listening to any outside source, but for the first two miles the noise and chaos was in my mind. Thoughts and words from two sermons and a Bible study needing to be written this week, pastoral care concerns, music from choir rehearsal the night before, my mind was full and racing. It took two miles to realize how unquiet I was. Then I remembered “Be still.” And for the next two miles I tried to tell myself, “Be still, know God.” But I still was racing around from place to place. It wasn’t until the fifth mile I realized that I needed God to still me. The command wasn’t enough. I needed God to quiet me down, center me, lead me into peace.

The Church cannot continue be reformed, our congregation reformed, each of us reformed, if we cannot find the stillness to hear God. When we slow down, turn off the outside influences for a moment, and ask God to calm our hearts and minds we begin to hear God’s voice over all the other voices that compete in our minds and hearts.

I didn’t fully find quiet and stillness on that walk. But in the last mile there were moments. Moments where I saw the quiet trees and the peaceful sky. Moments I was aware of my breathing and stepping. Moments that I was able to sense God saying, “I’m God, you’re not. Let me still you, quiet you.” Such is our life of faith. We likely never find a permanent place of stillness in the chaos of life. But when we open ourselves to God’s presence we receive moments that clarify, calm, give us refuge. We are reformed, made new again, and sent back into the chaos different, better able to live and not be overwhelmed.

This is how God will reform us, and the Church. Still us, Lord God, that we may hear and know you and be transformed.

Semi-Annual Meeting
The semi-annual meeting of Mount Olive congregation will be held this Sunday, October 25, following the second liturgy. The purpose of this meeting is to approve a budget for 2016. All voting members of Mount Olive are encouraged to attend!

Thursday Bible Study Continues
Thursday evening Bible Study continues through October 29. The evening starts with a light supper at 6:00 pm, followed by Bible Study. This series is titled “The Last Enemy,” and deals with mortality and faith.

Attention Worship Assistants!
The Servant Schedule for the 1st quarter of 2016 (January- March) will be published at the beginning of December 2015. The deadline for submitting requests to me is October 30, 2015. Please email your requests to peggyrf70@gmail.com. Thanks.

- Peggy Hoeft

Funeral Liturgies
The funeral Eucharist for Lydia Iverson will be this Friday, October 23, at 11:00 a.m. Visitation will be held one hour before the Eucharist, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The funeral Eucharist for Elaine Stender will be held on Saturday, October 31, at 1:00 p.m. Visitation will be held one hour before the Eucharist, beginning at Noon.

Rest eternal grant them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them. May Lydia and Elaine and all the blessed dead, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Transitions Support Group
All are welcome at Transitions Support Group. If you’re looking for new ideas or encouragement to meet the challenges or uncertainties that are before you, join us on Wednesday, November 11 at 6:00 pm.

This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.
Transitions Support Group meets on Wednesday, November 11 from 6- 7 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, and will be facilitated by Cathy Bosworth and Amy Cotter.

For more information, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144, marcat8447@yahoo.com, or Amy at 612-710-1811, agate651@gmail.com.

Names of the Departed Saints Invited
As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Sunday, Nov. 1, worshipers are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be one more opportunity to write these names this Sunday, or you may simply contact the church office with the names. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.

New Member Welcome
Mount Olive will welcome new members and associate members on Sunday, November 15, during the second liturgy. If you are interested in becoming a member or associate member, please contact the office via e-mail to welcome@mountolivechurch.org or by phone, 612-827-5919. You may also contact Pastor Crippen at church, or Andrew Andersen (763-607-1689).

A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy for new members and for all who would like to be part of the welcome festivities.

Save the Date!
On Sunday, November 1, following the second liturgy, we will host a wedding reception for Josh and Anna (Kingman) Scott! Watch for details in next week’s issue of The Olive Branch!

Restoration 2015 Updates
Follow the Renovations 2015 blog for weekly updates and new information on the project: http://morenovations2015.blogspot.com/.

There is also a link to the blog on the front page of the church website www.mountolivechurch.org.

Book Discussion Group Update
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome! For the November 14 meeting they will read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, and for December 12 they will read The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James.

Sunday’s Adult ForumOct. 25: "Martin Luther - The Wittenberg Nightingale," presented by Victor Gebauer. Martin Luther's view of music as God's good gift ("donum Dei") initiated a stream of joyful praise rooted in human experience and deep faith. Melody, worship, poetry, instruments, voices, and theology all flow together in the great reformer's enduring legacy of hymns for the church.

On November 1, All Saints Day, there will be no regular no teaching session. All are encouraged to view the display of the baptismal and death registry books of Mount Olive Lutheran Church.

National Lutheran Choir to Present All Saints Concert, “Blessed Are They”
Join the National Lutheran Choir for their annual All Saints Concert: “Blessed Are They,” a concert of music and texts reflecting on the lives of those who have been loved and lost. Concerts are 4 pm, Sunday, November 1, at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi and 7:30 pm, Friday, November 6, at St. Bartholomew Catholic Faith Community in Wayzata.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call Brown Paper Tickets (800) 838-3006, or order online at www.nlca.com. Tickets will also be available at the door on the day of the concert.

Stewardship NotesOur general-fund giving.
At the September 30 end of our third quarter, year-to-date general-fund giving from members was $418,671, about 5.5% above where we were at the same point last year. Sure, a 7% increase would feel more comfortable at this point in the year, but we’re doing OK—and we like to feel challenged, don’t we?

2016 budget.
This coming Sunday, October 25, following the second liturgy, we’ll discuss and vote on the budget at our semi-annual meeting of the congregation. On November 22, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving Day, and again the following Sunday, November 29, we’ll have op-portunities to signify our individual or household commit-ments in support of the budget, whether or not we choose to turn in what we’ve often called pledge cards. Watch for more about this in the next few weeks.

Blue envelopes.
As director of stewardship I get, along with some other people, our Weekly Income Summary, compiled by John Meyer or Jeff Brown after members of our rotating two-person teams of counters finish their work. Yes, my eye goes first to the top line, which shows general-fund giving. A so-so Sunday shows $4572.46 (Sept. 27), a better one shows $10,789 (Sept. 13). The forms don’t include contribu-tions via Simply Giving. But what really surprised me when I first began getting copies of these forms—and has delighted me since—are all the designated gifts, which usually come in the blue envelopes. Some recent examples: September 27: LWF Jerusalem, $20; World Hunger, $25; Food Shelf, $50; Capital Campaign 2014, $60; Refugee Relief, $225; Restoration 2015, $5,000. October 4: Minneapolis Area Synod, $25; Common Hope Guatemala, $25; Lutheran Volunteer Corps, $40; Community Meal, $100; Diaper Depot, $10; Capital Campaign 2014, $60; Restoration 2015, $600; Refugee Relief, $750. Since I (happily) never see names of contributors, I can’t say whether these gifts tend to come from relatively few households or a larger number. But these gifts, small or large, really make a difference. Thank you!

—Donn McLellan, Director of Stewardship

2016 Common Hope Teams to Guatemala
Mount Olive will send two teams to Guatemala in 2016 to visit Common Hope students and projects. One team is going in April and one at the end of July. Each team still has room for more members if you'd like to go along. Just leave your name at the church office or contact Judy Hinck (judyhinck@gmail.com, 612-824-4918) or Lisa Ruff (jklmruff@msn.com) for more information.

All of Mount Olive is part of this adventure. Our team goals: we will foster encounters that provoke compassion and challenge com-placency; we will connect needs and resources; we will build relation-ships. Practically speaking, what does that mean? We will visit students and their schools. We will meet supported families. We will help build a home. We will learn more about the health care Common Hope provides. We will provide support for schools, students and families.

Even if you can't come along, as part of Mount Olive, you are part of the action. You'll get updates, meet students who attend school because of Common Hope. You'll see what a difference a floor can make. You'll wonder at the beauty of central Guatemala. Look for updates as we plan, but get involved now. Support our teams as we contribute our time, talents and money to extend our Taste of Guatemala--Common Hope to a people-to-people connection.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

God’s grace compels us to ask ourselves, “Who is it who struggles with feelings of unworthiness? Who is society denying, demeaning, pushing to the margins? Who is it in our day who needs to believe in the presence of God, for them?” The Rev. Art Halbardier St. Luke, Evangelist texts: Luke’s Gospel; Isaiah 43:8-13

Learning about Luke the evangelist is a bit like tracing your family tree. For some points, you have documentation. Facts. For other points, you have fairly reliable evidence, perhaps some stories told you by your parents and grandparents. But most family trees will still have large “gray areas.” These “gray areas” must be filled in through inference, deduction, even guessing…educated or otherwise.

“Large gray areas” comprise much of what we know about Luke. Learning about Luke the evangelist is largely a matter of piecing together scraps of evidence.

In the fact category, we know that Luke was not one of the 12, probably not even one of the larger group of Jesus’ disciples. He does not claim to have known Jesus. Luke is clear in the verses we read, he is, rather, a careful reporter of what true eyewitness told him. Very likely, Luke was a gentile convert to Christianity, possibly evangelized by St. Paul. Paul mentions Luke traveling with him in several passages.

Obviously, Luke was well-educated; his use of the Greek language is rich and precise. Luke may have been a medical doctor; In one passage, Paul calls Luke “the beloved physician.” Luke is best known as the patron saint of physicians and surgeons. But he is also the patron of a lot of other folks: bookbinders, brewers, and butchers; of glass makers, glassworkers, gold smiths, lacemakers, and notaries (not sure how notaries fits this list, but there you are); Luke is also the patron of painters, sculptors, and stained glass workers… and, while we’re at it, the patron of the towns of Capena, Italy, and Hermersdorf, Germany. All of which makes Luke one very busy saint, looking after the welfare of so many.

Legend has it that Luke was also the first iconographer. He founded the tradition of painting icons on wooden boards, a tradition iconographers still follow. But Luke’s were very special boards. His first icons were painted on the boards of the very table used at the Last Supper. Maybe…

Because of the connection of St. Luke with the medical profession, worship on St. Luke’s Feast often includes special prayers for healing of the body, mind and soul, as well as the rite of anointing.

But, Luke himself never speaks of himself as a physician. Luke’s gospel does not emphasize Jesus’ healing of the sick any more than do the other three.

But, Luke’s Gospel is about healing. Luke tells of God’s determination to heal a malady in us more life-threatening than physical disease. Diseases can only sicken or kill us. What vexes us is much, much worse.

+ + +

We didn’t learn much from that odd Gospel reading today. We read only the first four verses and the final nine verses of Luke’s gospel. We didn’t take the time to read the 23 chapters between…for which, perhaps you are glad. But those 23 chapters are critical.

They reveal a God who will not rest until each one of us who is lost has been found. They tell of God who will let nothing stand in the way of healing the broken relationship between God and you and me.

No matter whether it’s our own rebellious choices, or whether we have simply lost our way in life. God refuses to accept the notion that any one of us is worthless or unredeemable, even if society has judges us so or others demean us to the point that we believe it.

God simply will not put up with pain or hopelessness in any one of us. God will heal the cause of whatever separates us from God, and will have it no other way, no matter the cost.

There is no single passage that declares this to be Luke’s purpose, per se. But that agenda becomes plain and clear in the course of those twenty-three chapters. The evidence is there. But it is a matter of piecing together scraps of evidence, much as one may have to do to fill in the gaps in our family tree.

+ + +

Scholars tell us Mark was the first gospel. That Matthew and Luke came later, and used much of Mark’s Gospel in their writing. But Matthew and Luke added additional material of their own. That special material is a strong clue to their particular message.

Luke recounts 23 parables of Jesus. 16 of these are parables that appear only in Luke. These special parables, and various encounters and incidents that only are included by Luke help us understand Luke’s particular understanding of God. Luke paints a portrait of God tirelessly and indiscriminately at work to heal relationships with the lost. [1]

For example, Luke tells the story of a time Jesus attended a posh dinner party. A woman comes in where the men are dining. Not just any woman. A notoriously sinful woman, a woman shunned by her community because of the life she has led - this woman invades the dinner party and commences to wash the feet of Jesus with her tears and dry his feet with her hair, and then anoints Jesus’ feet with a expensive ointment.

Jesus’ stuffy dinner companions are aghast! But Jesus holds the woman up to these pompous types as an example of genuine faith. He forgives her past sins and gives her a tender blessing to boot. The stuffy types were not pleased. But that’s the way God’s love works - accepting the lost and castaway, and not holding their past sins over them.

Luke also gives us Jesus’ parable of a man who falls among thieves and is left for dead on the road to Jericho. He’s alive, but regarded as beyond hope and way too much trouble to bother with by passers-by, even a priest and a Levite. But a kind Samaritan sees his hopeless state, and makes sure the man is cared for until he is healed.

Luke recounts the parable of a shepherd with a flock of 100 sheep who still searches long and hard for a single lost one, who then carries that sheep who caused him such trouble home on his shoulders rejoicing the whole way.

And he tells the parable of a woman who lights every lamp in the house and scours every inch of the floor to find a single lost coin.

And Luke is our source for the wonderful story of a father who waits year after year for his prodigal younger son to return.

Was the kid worth it? No. The boy has wasted his life and his father’s fortune. With no options left, he heads for home, dirty, gaunt and dressed in rags, wasted away from hunger and lousy living. When his father glimpses him trudging up the road, he runs to embrace his son and throws a huge party to celebrate that he is back.

Then the parable turns attention to the father’s other son, “Mr. Proper…Ne’er Does Wrong” - the older brother. Older brother’s nose is totally out of joint over his father throwing a party for that young loser. But his father loves this irritating son as much as the delinquent younger one, and begs him to come in, so the family can be whole again.

Luke shares one story after another in this vein: The “beautiful people” of society find poor Lazarus smelly and offensive and disgusting, covered with sores, lying there in the gutter outside the house where they are having a party. Yuk! But Lazarus is not ignored or disdained by God; when Lazarus dies, he is given a place of honor next to Abraham in heaven.

Luke recounts the parable of two men who come to the temple to pray. A Pharisee, who knows he is definitely a favorite of God, and spends his prayer time reminding God of how fortunate God is to have such a fine fellow on his side. Elsewhere in the temple is a tax collector. He has no friends, is hated by his own people due to his chosen profession, and knows he must be despicable and worthless to God as well. This one, Jesus says, went home justified in God’s sight.

Passing through Jericho, Jesus gets a glimpse of another hated tax collector, Zaccheus, and this fellow deserves to be hated. Zaccheus has gotten very rich by cheating his neighbors. Jesus invites himself to dinner at Zaccheus’ house, and this sad little fellow’s life is changed.
And so it goes, on and on. Luke recounts what he has learned: that God’s door is not shut to any one of us.

Society may have slammed doors in our face, we may feel adrift and directionless, it may even be that we have closed the door of our life to God. But God will not have it. God is relentless in loving, relentless in pursuing the lost, not because they deserve it, but simply because they are lost. No one is outside the reach of the healing love of God - and because that is true, that means even me. And you.

But, there is one more layer to all this good news. A difficult word pops up several times in our readings today, a word not to be ignored. The word is “witness.”

At one point a switch was thrown in the mind and heart of Luke, causing him to sideline his medical practice to become an “evangelist” – literally a “voice of the good news” – a “witness” to the truths he had come to know. In Isaiah, God reminds the people, “I have saved you!” “You are now my witnesses!” You are evidence of how I want to care for all people. Jesus, in the Gospel reading, tells the disciples whose minds have been opened by His resurrection, “Now you are witnesses of these things!”

+ + +

We, who know of the amazing grace of God, how can we not also be witnesses to what we have come to know? The truth needs to get out: that God is searching out every person, and there is not one who does not matter.

We can witness to that truth through words, yes; but also through actions, attitudes, decisions we make, relationships we form or hang onto, even how we vote and use our money.

God’s grace compels us to ask ourselves, “Who is it who struggles with feelings of unworthiness? Who is society denying, demeaning, pushing to the margins? Who is it in our day who needs to believe in the presence of God, for them?”

Luke leaves us with two questions, for our personal reflection today:

+ How, or when, have we personally felt this determined, indiscriminate, passionate, persistent love of God?
+ Where/ how is it that God would have us be the voice, the witness to that which we know?

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Favorite Hymns Survey
It was no surprise to me that when I asked of you to name your “top three” hymns there was grousing about narrowing it down to so few. It’s always been clear that this is a hymn-loving congregation. It’s deeply a part of who we are – both as individuals, and as a community with a collective memory bank!

There’s still a little time. We said you had until the 15th – which is Thursday of this week. However – if you can get your list to me by the end of Monday, October 19, I’ll include it in the survey compilation. Just jot them down. No more than three, however.

So far, here’s where we stand:

52 of you have responded so far.
87 hymns were named.
64 of those were named by one person.
12 of those were named by TWO persons.
3 of those were named by three people.
4 of those were named by four people.
3 of them were named by six people.
1 was named by seven people.

There are some interesting things to learn from this already. First of all, a close unanimous thing is that the hymns named were among those sung regularly by us in our liturgies. Only three or four of those 88 hymns are currently not sung on a regular basis by the Mount Olive community. We’re constantly singing each other’s song, making them an “our” song! I find this encouraging. There isn’t a list of hymns we’re NOT singing that most of you wished we were.

Second, isn’t it interesting to see the relatively small number of “in common” favorites? This, too, I see as a good thing. It’s our diversity brought into unity through song. An assumption I often have run into over the years, is that there is a list of favorites which is in common with a majority. Not so. At least among what we have asked for in this instance, “favorites.” No doubt there are hymns that a majority “like” in common. Especially here!

To find that list, I’d have to ask you all to write down ALL the hymns you find meaningful and compile that which would be a huge task. I can tell by your voices when we’re singing, however.
Once we are past the 19th I will publish and post the final results with titles. I left them out here so as to not influence those of you who haven’t responded yet.

What are we going to do with this list? Mostly it’s for information to keep in mind as I select hymns for our liturgies. I’m also finding out as much as I can about you as individuals, and how that translates into community in song. We are also preparing for a month-long celebration commemorating 50 years since the installation of the Schlicker organ (October of 2016). One thing we will do as a part of that is record and produce a CD of hymns sung by the Mount Olive congregation! We’ll have some recording sessions this coming spring, and perhaps include some of the “top favorites.” Watch for more information.

Tending the Family of God
We are sometimes reluctant to get in touch with people who have been missing from worship because we are afraid the conversation will be uncomfortable. (Actually, such conversations are rarely uncomfortable.) But which is worse: some possibility of discomfort caused by an act of love, or the people whom you have noticed missing from worship coming to the conclusion that no one cared about them or even knew that they were gone because no one got in touch with them? We want them to know they are missed and loved. They are important to us.

Be in touch.

Semi-Annual Meeting
The semi-annual meeting of Mount Olive congregation will be held on Sunday, October 25, following the second liturgy. The purpose of this meeting is to approve a budget for 2016.

A budget preview meet-ing will be held this Sunday, October 18, follow-ing the second liturgy. This will be an opportunity for all members to learn more about the budget they will approve the following week. All voting members of Mount Olive are encouraged to attend these meetings!

Thursday Bible Study Continues
Thursday evening Bible Study continues through October 29. The evening starts with a light supper at 6:00 pm, followed by Bible Study. This session, titled “The Last Enemy,” is led by Pr. Crippen. The focus is on mortality, death and dying, and how the Scriptures guide us.

Reminder: There will be no Bible Study tomorrow evening, October 15.

Transitions Support Group
All are welcome at Transitions Support Group. If you’re looking for new ideas or encouragement to meet the challenges or uncertainties that are before you, join us on Wednesday, November 11 at 6:00 pm.

This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.

Transitions Support Group meets on Wednesday, November 11 from 6- 7 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, and will be facilitated by Cathy Bosworth and Amy Cotter.

For more information, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144, marcat8447@yahoo.com, or Amy at 612-710-1811, agate651@gmail.com.

What are your Top Three Favorite Hymns? Deadline Extended to Oct. 19

I am conducting a survey in the coming weeks, to find out what our top three hymns are. My hunch is that for many of you this may be difficult - to narrow it down to so few, that is! I did this in past parishes, and learned a lot about who they were in doing so. I suspect that will again be the case, although I also suspect the lists will look quite different from than those I've seen before.

When you get a chance, begin thinking and thumbing through the hymnal; try to narrow it down. We will NOT ask you to include Christmas carols and hymns, as that is too easy to guess. (or..?!?...)

Those with internet access, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y9ZMP2H to enter your favorites. If you don’t have internet access, simply jot them down and bring/mail them to the church office – or call them in by calling the office at 612.827.5919.

The results will be helpful in a number of ways, but mostly will be informational for me as your Cantor.

- Cantor David Cherwien

New Member Welcome
Mount Olive will welcome new members and associate members on Sunday, November 15, during the second liturgy. If you are interested in becoming a member or associate member, please contact the office via e-mail to welcome@mountolivechurch.org or by phone, 612-827-5919. You may also contact Pastor Crippen at church, or Andrew Andersen (763-607-1689).

A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy for new members and for all who would like to be part of the welcome festivities.

Restoration 2015 Updates
Follow the Renovations 2015 blog for weekly updates and new information on the project: http://morenovations2015.blogspot.com/.

There is also a link to the blog on the front page of the church website www.mountolivechurch.org.

Book Discussion Group Update
Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome! For the November 14 meeting they will read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery.

Names of the Departed Saints Invited
As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Sunday, Nov. 1, worshipers are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be one more opportunity to write these names this Sunday, or you may simply contact the church office with the names. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.

Peace with Justice Forum
The next Minneapolis and Saint Paul Area Synods Peace with Justice Committee’s Peace With Justice Forum will be held on Sunday, October 18, 2015, 12:30-2 pm, at Central Lutheran Church, 3rd Ave and 12th St. in Minneapolis. Lunch is available for $7.00, but the speech is gratis.

Validated parking is available in the Central parking lot/ramp on the south side of the church.
The topic of this forum will be "A Challenge for Us All: Soul-Searching on Consequences of War," and the presenter will be the Rev. Lowell Erdahl, retired pastor, author, and former bishop of the St. Paul Area Synod of the ELCA.

Extreme Makeover: The Nave Floor
The refinishing of the floor under the pews went on throughout last week. By Friday, it was looking beautiful! But, then came the huge job of vacuuming and dusting the pews, the hymnals, the kneelers – it’s amazing all the places into which dust can find a way.

Huge thanks are due to a wonderful crew of workers who moved, refastened, and cleaned for over six hours last Saturday, so the church would be ready for worship Sunday morning.

The workers: Mark and Linda Pipkorn, Chuck Reyer, Steve Manuel, Jo Ellen Kloehn, Bob (“Vacuum Man”) Lee, Katherine Hanson, Don Luther, David Molvik, Joyce Brown, George Oelfke, Andrew Andersen, Elaine and Art Halbardier. And a round of applause to Sexton William Pratley for long days, patience, and perseverance in getting the floor stripped, sealed, and waxed. Altogether, it was a huge job well done.

Asbestos – Gone!!
Monday, October 5, 7 am: The sidewalk in front of the church looked like an “invasion site.” It was! The crew from Mavo Systems were there to clear the asbestos tile and mastic from the undercroft.

The work area was sealed so that none of the nasty stuff could escape into the rest of the building; a fresh air supply for the undercroft was created, contaminated air was filtered and vented outside.

In just four days, the asbestos was gone and the area was safe. The abatement crew was very professional and thorough. Workers are now hard at work installing the new floor to get the Undercroft ready for use next weekend. This project was funded by a grant from The Mount Olive Lutheran Church Foundation.

Powderhorn 365

Through the lenses of volunteer photographers, Powderhorn365 tells the daily stories of the Powderhorn Park neighborhood: making people and places visible, documenting history and celebrating life. Powderhorn365 produces a visual, community-written narrative through photo postings, photobooks and exhibits.

To see the work of this photo a day project, visit http://www.powderhorn365.com.

2016 Common Hope Teams to Guatemala
Mount Olive will send two teams to Guatemala in 2016 to visit Common Hope students and projects. One team is going in April and one at the end of July. Each team still has room for more members if you'd like to go along. Just leave your name at the church office or contact Judy Hinck (judyhinck@gmail.com, 612-824-4918) or Lisa Ruff (jklmruff@msn.com) for more information.

All of Mount Olive is part of this adventure. Our team goals: we will foster encounters that provoke compassion and challenge com-placency; we will connect needs and resources; we will build relation-ships. Practically speaking, what does that mean? We will visit students and their schools. We will meet supported families. We will help build a home. We will learn more about the health care Common Hope provides. We will provide support for schools, students and families.

Even if you can't come along, as part of Mount Olive, you are part of the action. You'll get updates, meet students who attend school because of Common Hope. You'll see what a difference a floor can make. You'll wonder at the beauty of central Guatemala. Look for updates as we plan, but get involved now. Support our teams as we contribute our time, talents and money to extend our Taste of Guatemala--Common Hope to a people-to-people connection.

Final Call for Refugee Relief Match
Next week Mount Olive will submit its contribution to the synod to participate in the Refugee Relief Matching Challenge. If you would like your donation to be part of the match, contribute this week, clearly marking your contribution “Refugee Relief.”

All funds will be sent to the Lutheran Disaster Response fund and 100% of the monies will be earmarked for refugee relief projects.

Celebrate and Rejoice!
Your Missions Committee received this news from the ELCA:

"I have incredible news! The ELCA Malaria Campaign just reached its fundraising goal of $15 million! Thank you for being a part of this monumental milestone and helping us protect countless lives from this preventable, treatable disease. Working with our Lutheran companions and partners in 13 African countries, we have brought about lasting change. We couldn't have done it without you! Today we celebrate all that we have accomplished together."- Christina Jackson-Skelton, Executive Director, Mission Advancement, ELCA

National Lutheran Choir to Present All Saints Concert, “Blessed Are They”
Join the National Lutheran Choir for their annual All Saints Concert: “Blessed Are They” – a concert of music and texts reflecting on the lives of those who have been loved and lost. Concerts are 4pm, Sunday, November 1, at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi and 7:30pm, Friday, November 6, at St. Bartholomew Catholic Faith Community in Wayzata.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, call Brown Paper Tickets (800) 838-3006 or order online at www.nlca.com.

Tickets will also available at the door on the day of the concert. The box office opens one hour prior to the concert.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

The word of God both calls us to act and reminds us that we are enough. This is the tension in which we live, called into something new and scary and not yet knowing or understanding how to make it a reality. This is where God’s grace is found. Vicar Anna Helgen Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 28, year B text: Mark 10:17-31

Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

If Jesus were to walk through the doors here at Mount Olive, can you imagine yourself running up to him, kneeling at his feet, and saying, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” I can. Because I wonder about these things. Like you, I try to be a good person, to do the right thing by loving others, and to ensure that my future is in God’s hands. But I worry about what I’m forgetting, what I’m missing, and where my ignorance has gotten the best of me. We want to know that our relationship and life with God is promised both here and now and in the life to come. So this question of eternal life matters! As does Jesus’ answer.

In this brief interaction, we get a sense that this man trusts Jesus enough to enter into this dialogue. He’s led a faithful life and kept the commandments, and yet he wonders what is missing. “You lack one thing,” Jesus says. “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Those words are hard to hear: You’re too focused on yourself and your own accumulation of things. It’s time for a change! Opportunities for relationship abound and you’re missing them!

We can relate. We too have many possessions--in comparison to the rest of the world--and it’s easy for us to get caught up in our own lives, in our own worries, concerns, and ideologies. We feel anxious about entering this future that God calls us to because it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to sell all our things and give the money to the poor. But is that all this passage is about? Does Jesus simply ask us to cash out our IRAs and piggy banks, empty our homes of our belongings, and then follow him?

Hebrews provides some help here. “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The words of Jesus cut deep. They have this wonderful ability to expose us and help us see who we truly are. To feel our brokenness and vulnerability. To uncover our fears. And also to help us imagine a new reality that comes into being as we live into our relationship with God and with others.

On the one hand, these words from Jesus convict us. In order to be in relationship with Jesus, to follow him and have eternal life, we need to change the way we handle our wealth. "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

This is a call to act! But I’m not sure I can do what Jesus asks of me nor am I sure I want to. I like my things. My canoe. My car. A home to call my own. My dad taught me to save money for the future, and now I’m being asked to give it all away? That is scary. What if I can’t do it? Am I a bad person? Will Jesus still love me? Will there still be room for me in God’s kingdom? This man, no doubt, has these same questions. Jesus’ words pierce his soul and leave him feeling uncertain and sad. If this is required of us, then we all fall short.

On the other hand, these words from Jesus come from a place of love. Did you catch that detail? Before Jesus says these words, he looks down at the man who kneels before him, sees his truth, and loves him, just as he is. After all, he knows a few things about what it’s like to live in this world. To give up what makes us comfortable, what secures our future, and what makes life easy. It is out of love that Jesus provides words of guidance that will help this man to be better. Advice that will help him along the way. Like a good teacher, Jesus doesn’t trick, shame, or belittle this man. Instead, he helps him to imagine a new way of living in the world.

So what are we to do? The word of God both calls us to act and reminds us that we are enough. I find this tension remarkable. And I love that we aren’t sure what happens with this man, who lives within this very tension. Does he go away grieving because he is too tied to his stuff and cannot give up his own abundance? Or is he grieving because he realizes that in order to embark on this new adventure, he will need to leave his old life behind. We don’t know.

I find great comfort and hope in this because it’s often where I find myself: in the uncertainty. Standing on the edge of change, with one foot in the past and one in the future. Being called into something new and scary and not yet knowing or understanding how to make it a reality. This is where God’s grace is found.

We don’t know what this man decides to do, but we know that Jesus gives him the freedom to make his own decision in his own time. To take the first step. To take a chance, a risk. God gives us freedom to listen for the Spirit to speak in our lives and move our hearts to action. And all the while, we are loved, just as we are.

The thought of having to change is scary because it means stepping out from the easy and comfortable and into the unknown. But when we take that first step, we realize that this is where there is meaning. Where we find life, hope, and grace. We notice the person at the highway entrance ramp and instead of quickly passing by, we open our wallet, exchange a sign of peace, and smile. We give a little more to the young woman who rings the doorbell raising money to save the honeybees. We remember to fill up bags for the epilepsy foundation and leave them at the doorstep. We give up our need to be better than another. We share our hearts.

Perhaps this man asked the wrong question when he ran up to Jesus. There is nothing we can do to inherit eternal life because an inheritance is something that is given. Our present and future life with God belongs to us now. And we, like this man, are already on the road with Jesus. We can approach him at any time. As we follow him and learn to live into this future that God calls us to, it becomes clear that Jesus invites us to be generous. Not because we have to in order to be in relationship or to secure our eternal destiny, but because it is better for us. It is life-giving.

By sharing our abundance, we learn to trust God and live like we believe God’s promises. We enter into relationships with people different than us. We find new opportunities to give and serve. We see all God’s people as worthy and in need of love and care. In the topsy turvy upside-down world of the gospel, to live fully in God’s kingdom we are called to share in the struggles with our neighbors, where the first are last and the last are first, where all are welcomed, valued, and loved. And, in all our attempts, in our successes and failures, in our certainty and doubt, God walks with us, leads us, and loves us. Just as we are.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

I love the Bible. Perhaps that goes without saying, as a seminary student and the current vicar of Mount Olive, but I will say it again: I love the Bible. I love its stories and poetry, its complexity and simplicity, and its wisdom for life. This book gives witness to God’s new reality shaped by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it is by the power of the Spirit—through hearing and reading these stories of the Bible—that God speaks to us.

I love that these stories tell of people much like us. They are flawed and beautiful. Courageous and quirky. We see ourselves in them because they, like us, seek to figure out what God intends for them. They wonder about the best way to live in relationship with one another and with God. They wrestle with issues of politics and economics and teach us how to care for the orphan and refugee. We can learn a lot from them.

Perhaps what I love most about the Bible, however, is how each time I encounter its stories, God speaks. And, more often than not, when God speaks, I hear something new. Because, as our Hebrews writer reminds us, the Word of God is living and active! It isn’t a book that sits on our bookshelf collecting dust; it is a book that breathes newness into our lives as we listen for how God speaks to us in this time and place.

Our scripture readings for Sunday challenge us to think about how we value our wealth - our money, our possessions, and our time. The words we will hear are certainly convicting, but they are also an invitation to live out of our abundance so that all might share in God’s love. I find great comfort knowing that when we encounter these stories, God will speak!

Have you ever noticed that someone who has regularly been at worship is now no longer there, and have you ever wondered what has happened to him or her? Have you considered that wondering what has happened may be the voice of God calling you to action? Make a phone call. Write a note. Send an email. Attend to those around you.

- Warren Peterson

New Member Welcome

Mount Olive will welcome new members and associate members on Sunday, November 15, during the second liturgy. If you are interested in becoming a member or associate member, please contact the office via e-mail to welcome@mountolivechurch.org or by phone, 612-827-5919. You may also contact Pastor Crippen at church, or Andrew Andersen (763-607-1689).

A welcome brunch will follow the liturgy for new members and for all who would like to be part of the welcome festivities.

Names of the Departed Saints Invited

As a part of our All Saints liturgy on Sunday, Nov. 1, worshipers are invited to submit the names of loved ones close to them who have died in the past year, since last All Saints Sunday, who weren’t members of Mount Olive. (Members of the parish who have died are always named.) These other names submitted will be included in the prayers of intercession. There will be one more opportunity to write these names this Sunday, or you may simply contact the church office with the names. Please keep this to just those who have died this past year, so we can have a more manageable list.

Semi-Annual Meeting

The semi-annual meeting of Mount Olive congregation will be held on Sunday, October 25, following the second liturgy. The purpose of this meeting is to approve a budget for 2016.

A budget preview meet-ing will be held on Sunday, October 18, following the second liturgy. This will be an opportunity for all members to learn more about the budget they will approve the following week. All voting members of Mount Olive are encouraged to attend these meetings!

Thursday Bible Study Continues

Thursday evening Bible Study continues through October 29. The evening starts with a light supper at 6:00 pm, followed by Bible Study. This session, titled “The Last Enemy,” is led by Pr. Crippen. The focus is on mortality, death and dying, and how the Scriptures guide us.
Note: There is no study on Thursday, October 15.

Transitions Support Group

All are welcome at Transitions Support Group. If you’re looking for new ideas or encouragement to meet the challenges or uncertainties that are before you, join us on Wednesday, November 11 at 6:00 pm.

This is an opportunity to share in fellowship, prayer, and discussion with others in the Mount Olive community.

Transitions Support Group meets on Wednesday, November 11 from 6- 7 pm at Mount Olive in the lower level Youth Room, and will be facilitated by Cathy Bosworth and Amy Cotter.

For more information, please contact Cathy at 612-708-1144, marcat8447@yahoo.com, or Amy at 612-710-1811, agate651@gmail.com.

What are your Top Three Favorite Hymns? Let us know by Oct. 15

I am conducting a survey in the coming weeks, to find out what our top three hymns are. My hunch is that for many of you this may be difficult - to narrow it down to so few, that is! I did this in past parishes, and learned a lot about who they were in doing so. I suspect that will again be the case, although I also suspect the lists will look quite different from than those I've seen before.

When you get a chance, begin thinking and thumbing through the hymnal; try to narrow it down. We will NOT ask you to include Christmas carols and hymns, as that is too easy to guess. (or..?!?...)

Those with internet access, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y9ZMP2H to enter your favorites. If you don’t have internet access, simply jot them down and bring/mail them to the church office – or call them in by calling the office at 612.827.5919.

The results will be helpful in a number of ways, but mostly will be informational for me as your Cantor.

- Cantor David Cherwien

Conversation Circle

There is an ongoing conversation being held at Mount Olive about the struggles and relationship of race in our country, our neighborhood, and our church.

This group has met in a Circle - a traditional format that allows for equal voice and a safe space to discuss difficult, complex issues with freedom. Healing, processing, and growth happen within the Circle and hopefully continues as each individual steps away in to their personal lives as well. It is an opportunity that is always open to anyone to drive at the "what does this mean in my own life? What do I do about this?" questions.

In the churning cultural world of today, it is important to be mindful and aware of the realities, not just the mirages or stereotypes or smoke and mirrors of peoples’ lives and your own. Racial discrimination and white privilege are not comfortable or clear topics to understand, but talking about them is crucial to the health of our neighborhoods and our own hearts.

Conversations are happening at Mount Olive on the 4th Monday of the month, from 6-8 pm. The circle has been a place to discover those realities and share in the journey towards the 'good' that God created.

- Anna Kingman

Book Discussion Group Update

Mount Olive’s Book Discussion Group meets on the second Saturday of each month, at 10:00 am in the West Assembly Area at church. All readers are welcome! For the October 10 meeting they will read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers, and for November 14, they will read The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery.

Adult Forum

Adult Forum is held between the liturgies on Sunday mornings, beginning at approximately 9:30 am.

October 11: "Letter to the Hebrews," presented by Pastor Joseph Crippen

The letter to the Hebrews, once attributed to Paul, is the source of the second readings in the Sun-day liturgies during October. Written to people with some of the same concerns as the audience of Colossians and Ephesians, this letter more close-ly resembles a sermon on our pilgrimage of faith.

Restoration 2015 Updates

Follow the Renovations 2015 blog for weekly updates and new information on the project: http://morenovations2015.blogspot.com/.

There is also a link to the blog on the front page of the church website www.mountolivechurch.org.

Contribution Statements

Third quarter contribution statements are being prepared and mailed to all Mount Olive contributors this week. Please take a moment to review your statement when it comes, and contact the church office if you have any questions about it.

Now is the Moment to Respond

Your Missions Committee had decided at its last meeting to wait until we heard from our Synod how our church would respond to the refugee crisis before we asked for your special gifts. We heard this week--and now it is our turn to respond and meet the challenge.

In response to the refugee crisis in Europe, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Brooklyn Park, has committed to match all gifts from Minneapolis Area Synod congregations, up to $50,000 for Lutheran Disaster Response. Senior pastor Chad Brekke said, "our members watched vulnerable families risk lives and livelihoods to leave war zones and they asked ‘what can we do?’ And then they asked, ‘Who can be in this with us?’"

The answer: You can! Lutheran Disaster Response states that LDR "is committed to meeting basic humanitarian needs and upholding the rights of those fleeing war and crisis. We are working with our companion churches, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia, and The Lutheran World Federation to provide food, diapers, blankets, water, health kits, hygiene kits, and psycho-social services to assist those who have fled their homes."

So Mount Olive members and friends--let's have our gifts doubled! The Missions Committee will contribute from its general fund, not taking away money from another other ministry. Your contributions, clearly marked Refugee Relief, will be added to the Committee's contribution and sent along to the Synod as soon as possible to join with Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Please make your checks payable to Mount Olive, and be sure they are clearly designated for “Refugee Relief."

Together we can help many.

Updated Photos

If you need an updated photo for the church’s online pictorial directory, please contact the church office or Paul Nixdorf (pn@paulnixdorf.com or 612-296-0055). We will update the online directory in November after new members are received, but updated photos need to be taken before then. This is a great opportunity to update your directory photo if needed.

2016 Common Hope Teams to Guatemala

Mount Olive will send two teams to Guatemala in 2016 to visit Common Hope students and projects. One team is going in April and one at the end of July. Each team still has room for more members if you'd like to go along. Just leave your name at the church office or contact Judy Hinck (judyhinck@gmail.com, 612-824-4918) or Lisa Ruff (jklmruff@msn.com) for more information.

All of Mount Olive is part of this adventure. Our team goals: we will foster encounters that provoke compassion and challenge complacency; we will connect needs and resources; we will build relation-ships. Practically speaking, what does that mean? We will visit students and their schools. We will meet supported families. We will help build a home. We will learn more about the health care Common Hope provides. We will provide support for schools, students and families.

Even if you can't come along, as part of Mount Olive, you are part of the action. You'll get updates, meet students who attend school because of Common Hope. You'll see what a difference a floor can make. You'll wonder at the beauty of central Guatemala. Look for updates as we plan, but get involved now. Support our teams as we contribute our time, talents and money to extend our Taste of Guatemala--Common Hope to a people-to-people connection.

Work on the Floors Begins

As work continues outdoors on the walls, roof, and windows of the church, why not start some more projects?

This past Monday, work began in the Undercroft to replace the floor, and also in the sanctuary to clean, strip and refinish the floors under all the pews. The Undercroft project will require two weeks, because there is asbestos in the tiles and the mastic that glues them down.

Week One will be "abatement," which involves sealing the space with plastic so workers can safely remove the nasty stuff without contaminating the atmosphere in the rest of the building. Mavo Systems, specialists in this work, have been engaged to do this important phase of the project.

Week Two, beginning October 12, will be laying a new floor in the Undercroft. The color scheme will be similar to the upper floor of the Parish House. The new floor will be in place by October 15 or 16. This winter, the walls will be given a fresh coat of paint.

This project has been in the planning for some months (months before the outside repairs demanded attention), and is funded by a generous grant for this year from The Mount Olive Church Foundation. Eventually the lower level hallway will also be redone to match the upper level, and the Parish House will all look "of a piece," but not right now.

Meanwhile, volunteers and Sexton William Pratley will be busy upstairs in the church - a project also planned many months ago. All the pews will be taken loose in sections and moved aside so that the floor underneath can be cleaned and resealed. Everything will be back in place for worship on October 11.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

We find no life playing games with God’s law, no loopholes to sneak through; our only hope is to recognize our utter dependence and vulnerability and turn to Christ Jesus for welcome, forgiveness and newness of life.Pr. Joseph G. Crippen Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 27, year B texts: Mark 10:2-16; Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

If you want a fight over God’s law, don’t pick it with the Son of God.

If you want a fight for a loophole to avoid the harshness of God’s law, don’t pick it with the Son of God, either.

But if your fight helps you harm someone who is already vulnerable, and endanger their well-being, well, you really, really do not want to pick such a fight with the Son of God.

Would that these religious leaders had such wisdom. They were testing Jesus, and that meant what it means today, asking a hot topic question hoping to trip him up.

They knew the Torah permitted divorce. Their trap involved a debate between two schools of Jewish thought at the time. One permitted divorce only under extreme circumstances, like adultery. The other argued a man could divorce his wife for almost any perceived fault, including, according to one rabbi, spoiling the evening meal or no longer appealing to him. [1]
Jesus wanted nothing of this debate. Their mistake was picking the fight. Because if you argue the law of God with the Son of God, he will give you God’s law. And you won’t like it.

But Jesus isn’t done. By Jewish law, only a man could initiate divorce. He could give his wife a letter of dismissal from his rabbi, and she was out. The debate was about what criteria were needed.

Jesus ignores Jewish law, saying, “If a man divorces his wife,” and adding, “and if a woman divorces her husband.” He’s already said God doesn’t want divorce. Now he speaks as if that applies to men and women. This was so far from reality that when Matthew and Luke tell this story, basing their account on Mark’s, they delete the line about a woman divorcing her husband. “Like that could ever happen,” we imagine them thinking.

Jesus still isn’t done. Not only is divorce outside of God’s will, whether a man does it or a woman, he says, if they re-marry, they’re committing adultery.

This is why you don’t pick a fight with Jesus over God’s law. You go in looking for loopholes, hoping to trap him, and you leave with a law so stringent, so airtight, you’re far worse off than when you started.

We can’t return and warn the Pharisees. But we should heed this warning.

If we want to play the law game, Jesus seriously outclasses us. We can argue about interpreting these words on divorce till we’re blue in the face, whether Jesus meant that divorced people must remain single forever, whether there are exceptions. We can correctly claim that Jesus was protecting women who were vulnerable to an unjust system. We can seek a creative way around an absolutely clear statement by the Son of God.

But we will always end with Jesus saying, God’s law is absolute. There’s no way around or through it.

And we knew this all along. No one really believes God wants divorce. No one delights in it when they do it, even if they think it’s the only option. I’ve never married a couple who said, “We can’t wait for our divorce.” If you’ve been divorced, nothing Jesus says here is a surprise.

But that goes for all of God’s law. There are lots of people in this room who every three years get to hear this reading and feel pain and guilt over their lives and their past. If you’ve been divorced, this isn’t a fun Sunday to be in church.

So let’s get everyone in this room feeling pain and guilt. There’s no reason only some of us should squirm. If you think you can somehow trick Jesus into saying the things you’ve done that were contrary to God’s will, against God’s law, are OK, or you’ve found a loophole, or they didn’t harm you or anyone else, or didn’t matter, well. You won’t win that fight, either.

Jesus will tighten our own trap until we can’t breathe. You want to justify hating and being angry with someone? He’ll say it’s murder. You want to pretend you’ve been faithful to your spouse just because you didn’t act on your fantasies? He’ll say if you thought it, you did it. This is the only outcome of playing the God’s law game. We can’t make God’s law fit our way of life. We always get caught.

So if this is a fight we can’t win and don’t want, what can we do? Lord, to whom shall we go?

We could notice Jesus doesn’t want this fight, either.

Jesus only gets harsh about the law of God when people do what these folks did, pick the fight, try to test, look for loopholes, step on others. He’s minding his own business when a woman caught in adultery is dragged in front of him. Instead of condemning her, Jesus condemns the whole crowd for their sins and gives a strong impression he knows what they are. This is the way it always goes.

But when Jesus preaches, he announces God’s reign is coming into this world, and it’s marked by forgiveness and grace. It’s a reign where the least are the greatest, where everyone is willing to serve others, where life is found in letting go of fights over right and wrong. He announces good news to the poor and oppressed, the downhearted and sinful. He goes out of his way to welcome into this reign of God people that the so-called “good” people have written off as lost causes.

If we really want to know what to do, we could notice this is the way the Son of God prefers to work in the world. He shows this by what he does next.

Jesus takes a child into his arms and says, “this is how you come to God.”

If you want to come to God with your arguments and self-righteousness, if you think you can finesse your way past God’s law and God’s standards, you will soon find out how impossible that is.

But if you’re willing to admit you are as vulnerable and dependent as any child, as vulnerable and dependent as those wives they were debating throwing away like so much trash, if you’re willing to be that weak, well. I’ve got good news for you, Jesus says. I came for people just like you.

Do you see? Jesus says to us. You can’t argue your way around what God asks of you. God wants us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. God wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves. These will be the hardest things we have ever done. There are no loopholes, no shortcuts. We will fail at both these commandments, and fail often.

But I have come that you will not fail, Jesus says. When you admit your weakness, your dependence on my mercy, your inability to live up to God’s will, I will take you into my arms, always forgive you, and set you down again with the strength and courage to love God and love neighbor with every breath of your being.

That’s the true Good News of God the Son of God wants us to know.

To show us this, Hebrews says today, the Triune God in Christ became the most vulnerable and dependent of all. Instead of supporting those who would crush others by their interpretation of God’s law while seeking loopholes for themselves, Christ Jesus tasted death, Hebrews says, suffered completely, to become the pioneer, the guide, of our salvation.

He showed us that being vulnerable and dependent on God means being vulnerable and dependent on each other. While that opens us up to all sorts of pain and loss and daily death, he shows it’s also the path of life, of resurrection.

When we are willing to become the least, we find the true God has gotten there before us, and we begin to understand: love of God can only happen where God is, and that’s always with the least, the lost, the stepped upon in our midst. Love of neighbor begins there, too, when we see everyone as our neighbor to be served, everyone as worthy of our love and care.

Then we truly begin to understand God’s grace and truly begin to live.

This is the news we’ve desperately needed, the only news worthy of being called “good.”

There is no fight we want over God’s law, and God doesn’t want it, either. The healed, whole world the Triune God is making by taking on our life in the Son and making us new, is found when we become as children again, utterly dependent, utterly vulnerable, utterly loved and graced.

The reign of God belongs to such as these, Jesus says. What a relief it is to let go of our need to prove our righteousness, to let go of our fear of failure, to let go of all those things that cause us pain and guilt. We are loved, blessed children of God, and in that reality we are given strength and courage to live like the children of God we are.

God help us on this path, because we need this life. We want it. We long for it.